Tom Beaton to stand in Brentford in the 2018 local electionTom Beaton

12 February 2018

Tom Beaton will be standing for the Green Party in Brentford ward at the council elections in May. Tom joins Tony Firkins and Victoria George, also Green candidates.

Tom rides a bike regularly and supports the development of CS9, the TfL proposed cycle route to provide a link from Kensington to the western end of Brentford High Street. "There will be details people argue over", he said, "but the principle is right. The A4 as a cycleway needs a great deal of improvement as well as developing CS9 along the A315 corridor. "What we need", he said, "Is a mass switch to the bike, and that will only happen if children start cycling to school again. As a Green councillor I will work with schools and parent bodies to encourage ride-to-school days."

On Heathrow's proposed third runway Tom said, "Heathrow's directors want to increase the company's value to justify paying the directors more. That is their raison d'etre. It is a mistake to believe any other claimed motive." He asks those responding to the consultations, to point out that all the problems Heathrow talks about 'mitigating' or 'reducing' would be mitigated or reduced best by not building a third runway.

Tom recognises that councils are going through a tough time financially but believes there are some things the council could do costing little or nothing. "It could be more open with information, for example by making it easy for residents to see the council's contracts with suppliers. It’s really a question of attitude", he said "which is determined, throughout any organisation, by those at the top. Rather than seeking to reveal as little as they can they should want to be as open as possible, consistent with the law of course. That transparency is something I shall try to bring about."

Tom believes every policy proposal should be looked at in terms of its long term impact, not just on whether it will look good tomorrow. "It should be a very rare event for a council to enter into a contract for something as straightforward as road resurfacing over a period of 25 years" he said. "It might get the council out of a fix today, but the next generation of council tax payers will suffer."